Acadian History The Beginnings The first Acadian settlement was founded at Port-Royal in Acadia, which is now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The French were led by Pierre du Gast, Sieur de Monts. Along with de Monts on that first voyage were Jean de Biencourt, Sieur de Poutrincourt; Samuel de Champlain, the king's geographer; Dupont-Gravé, a shipbuilder; Louis Hébert, an apothecary; and 120 other settlers. They had arrived at the Bay of Fundy in 1604, and camped at Dotchet Island, but a ...